Talk by Sandra Pullen on the history of Sudbrook Park, Petersham

Date/Time
Date(s) - Monday 14 November 2022
8:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Location
Duke Street Church

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Hydrotherapy at Sudbrook Park

Our speaker, Sandra Pullen, is a freelance garden historian, a researcher and a member of the Richmond Local History Society. Sandra completed an MA in the history of landscape and garden history from the Institute of Historical Research in 2021. She regularly lectures on various aspects of garden history and has also been a guide for several historic houses in the area.

Sandra will be talking about Sudbrook Park, which has a fascinating history. The estate was formed by the 2nd Duke of Argyll,  a successful soldier and influential courtier to George I and George II. The central mansion designed by James Gibbs and built between 1726 and 1728, is an important early Palladian building, listed at Grade I and now the clubhouse of Richmond Golf Club.

Sandra’s talk will explore the meansions colourful owners and tenants, and chart its changing fortunes from the riverside home of John, 2nd Duke of Argyll and Robert Wilmot-Horton, a 19th-century public servant, to the re-purposing of the estate as brickworks and, later, a hydropathic establishment. Sandra will also present the results of her new research on the pleasure grounds and the development of the park’s garden.